Alabama DC says Nick Saban showing no signs of retirement - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — Alabama defensive coordinator Kevin Steele knew the question was coming, and he was ready.

So were the Crimson Tide's defensive players at Friday's media availability for the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential.

Steele, in his third stint working for Nick Saban, was asked whether his 72-year-old boss might be inclined to walk it off into retirement if he wins his next two games, beginning with Michigan on Monday, and captures his seventh national championship at Alabama.

«Wow,» a grinning Steele said with emphasis.

Steele, with 39 years of coaching experience, wasn't about to wade blindly into that one, but he was quickly reminded by a reporter that that narrative was out there.

«I've heard it. So, yeah, it's always going to be out there, and I will tell you this: Nobody knows that answer except for him,» Steele said.

The answer Steele does know is that Saban, in his 17th season at Alabama, never deviated from his renowned «process» earlier this season — after the home loss to Texas in Week 2 and the ugly road win over South Florida a week later — when media, fans and even some former players were suggesting that Alabama's season was all but over and that perhaps Saban's best days were behind him.

«I think people forget, and I've seen it, that he has an uncanny ability to know what each team needs, what each group of guys need and what each side of the ball needs,» Steele said. «And now, it's expected that you're going to win every game at Alabama, and when you have a game where you don't win, then all the focus… well, it must be gone. The mystique must be gone [Steele said, pointing to a reporter]. That's your word, and he has an uncanny ability to manage that.»